T.U.L.I.P. or, The Five Points of Calvinism (2024)

by Rev. Barry Gritters

Dead in Sin?

Is the faith of our fathers living in your life? In your church? We sing the song: "Faith of our fathers living still..."and no doubt the faith is living. But the question is,"Where is that faith living and confessed?" And, "What is the faith of our fathers?" Itwas expressed over 350 years ago by our church fathers at theSynod of Dordt (in the Netherlands). We use the familiar acrostic:TULIP to help us remember what our fathers said the Bibleteaches:

T - Total Depravity

That means simply MAN is DEAD. The Bible says that you and I are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-6) unlesswe are born again. DEAD!!! More than that, the man orwoman who is dead in sin hates God, and his "carnal mind" is "enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7). His will is stubbornlysteeled against God. This Biblical idea changes a lot of moderntalk about salvation.

Consider what that means:

Can a man do good works then, if he is not a Christian whois born again? No. "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23).
Can a man want to be born again and follow instructionson "how to do it?" No, for that would be like sayingthat a man in a grave can desire to come out of the grave, orfollow instructions on how to be made alive. It would be liketrying to lure him out of the grave. "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing" (John 6:33).
Can any man "accept Christ" as his personal Savior,so that he becomes saved after that? Of course not. AcceptingChrist is a good work done only by a Christian. Only AFTERGod makes a person alive, can he and will he accept Christ. "Noman can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44).
Can you "offer salvation" to anyone? That is surelyimpossible. One might as well offer food to a dead man than salvation to a dead sinner (Eph.2:1-2).

ONLY GOD CAN MAKE US ALIVE. AND GOD DOES THAT SOVEREIGNLY- WITHOUT OUR AID, WITHOUT OUR ASKING. From beginning to end, "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9). This isthe faith that we preach, because it is Biblical, becauseit is the FAITH of our fathers, which we love, still livingin our hearts, and because it gives God all the glory!

Not My Choice

U - Unconditional Election

This means simply: God chooses to give some people eternallife, without looking for anything good in them as acondition for loving and saving them.

Before any man or woman is born -- in fact, before the worldwas made -- God decided who would go to heaven and who would not. Before they did good or bad, God chose some to be His peopleand rejected others.

"CONDITIONAL election" would mean that God choosesto be His those who first love and choose Him. But theBible says: "You have not chosen me, I have chosen you" John 15:16. (Please also look at Romans 9:11-21.) Acts 13:48says that "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." Only, when we speak this language is the horse placed beforethe cart. CONDITIONAL election puts the cart before the horse,because it says that man believes and THEN is ordained to eternal life. Read carefully John 10:26 for another plain "horsebefore the cart" passage. Can one imagine what the denialof this doctrine would mean? If we remember that before we are saved, we can do nothing good (John 15:5; Ephesians 2:1-6), the only conclusion is that we could never chooseGod. And never would. And never would be saved.

But God is sovereign and chooses whom He will choose. And afterHe chooses us, we choose Him daily. All we are and all we haveis given us by God.

Again, this is the faith that we preach, because it is Biblical,because it is the faith of our fathers, living still in our hearts,and because it gives God all the glory!!!!

For All Men?

Is the faith of our fathers living in your life? In yourchurch? We sing the song: "Faith of our fathers living still..."and no doubt the faith is living. But the question is,"Where is that faith living and confessed?" And, "What is the faith of our fathers?" Itwas expressed over 350 years ago by our church fathers at theSynod of Dordt (in the Netherlands). We use the familiar acrostic:TULIP to help us remember what our fathers said the Bible teaches:

L - Limited Atonement

The great gospel message that so many today are urgently carryingto distant lands is that Christ made atonement with His death. But there are two critical points at which this message isso severely distorted that it no longer carries the gospel message.

THE FIRST DISTORTION concerns what Christ's death did. The Biblical truth of the Atonement is that His deathpaid for sins. Yet so many today teach that Christ's deathwas only an example for us to follow, and if one merely followsHis example he will be saved. Or it is taught that Christ's deathdid not actually pay for any specific sins, but made it possiblefor all sins to be paid for.

But the Bible says that Christ's death on the cross actually paid for sins. Acts 20:28 says that God bought the church with His own blood. See also Matthew 26:28, Hebrews 7:26-27.

THE SECOND DISTORTION of this biblical truth is that Christ diedfor all men. Some teach that Christ made it possible for allmen to be saved. But the questions that must be asked are: "IfChrist died for all men, why are not all men saved?" "Cannot God do what He desires to do?" "Is there somethingdefective in Christ's death?" "Must man desire to besaved first?" But a man who is totally depraved can notwill to be saved. He hates God and wants nothing to do with Christ'sdeath. So it must not be said that Christ died for all men.

The Bible says that Christ laid down His life for His sheep, and only them. John 10:11. The ATONEMENT is LIMITEDto the elect of God. Every sin of every one of Christ's sheepis paid for. Those sins and those alone have been paid for. That is the only gospel because that is the Bible.

Dragged Kicking & Screaming to Heaven?

I - Irresistible Grace

The fourth Biblical truth in the five points of Calvinism teachesthat God's grace to save a person cannot be resisted. Grace is God's free and unmerited power to save a personfrom his sins which would otherwise lead us to hell. Grace bringshim to heaven who naturally would end in eternal hell.

That grace is irresistible. That means that if God gives graceto you, there is nothing in the world that you can do to resistit and thwart God's intention to take you to heaven. The certainty of salvation for God's elect is seen in John 6:37 where Jesussays: "All that the Father hath given me shall come to me..." There is no doubt that they will be saved. Verse 44 says thatthose who come to God come because God draws them. Notour will, but God's will is first and powerful.

Now, some ridicule this truth of the Bible and say that it makesman go to heaven against his will. "He kicks and screamsall the way to heaven." But that is not how the Bible presentsGod's grace. God makes His people "willing in the day of His power" Psalm 110:3. For a wonderful illustrationof that truth, just consider the converted Apostle Paul. "By the grace of God' he was what he was (I Corinthians 15:10). And immediately after his conversion he said willingly, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Acts 9:6. Thatsurely was not against his will.

God's grace is sweet and irresistible. He makes us love it andwant nothing else. He is as irresistible to us as a husband tohis newly-wed bride. Come with us and hear God's wonderful graceproclaimed in Christ any Lord's Day.

Living Like the Devil?

P - Preservation of the Saints

The last of the five points of Calvinism teaches that Godpreserves His people so they can never be lost. To put itsimply, it means this: "Once you are saved, you are alwayssaved."

God's Word is full of proof for this beautiful truth. And thoughmany deny it, and tell you that you can be lost and saved many,many times, and therefore can never be sure of your salvation,the Bible says otherwise. Talking about His elect sheep, Jesussaid: "And I give them eternal life; and they shall neverperish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand" (John 10:28). See John 6:39, 17:2, 11,12; Romans 8:37-39; II Tim. 1:12; 4:18, etc. etc.

Some object to this doctrine because it supposedly makes men"carnally secure" in their salvation. That is, if Iknow nothing can make me go to hell once God has saved me, I will"live like the devil." There have been some who haveused this beautiful truth as an excuse to live like the devil. But they are not Christians. Nor do they understand this truth. Because this truth also implies "PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS." Those who never fall away are saints. They are holy. And they are given power to live holy lives. They "continuein well-doing." Anyone who says he can "live like thedevil" has not experienced the saving power of Christ and does not know the meaning of Philippians 1:6, "He that hathbegun a good work in you will perform it until the day of JesusChrist." God will continue working good works in us untilChrist returns. Don't think otherwise.

Is there any hope for Christians without this doctrine? We don'tneed to be "scared to heaven." We need comfort. Becausewe know that if it were up to the Christian to remain saved, hewould never be able to do it. You know yourself!!!! There isno power in me apart from God's grace.

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Last modified, 16-Jul-2000